Obituaries

OSA Mourns the Loss of Norman Jack Brown, Jr.Norman J. Brown, Jr., an OSA Fellow who was a career scientist at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in Livermore, California, USA, died of a stroke on 3 September 2010. He was 79.
After serving with the U.S. Army in Korea, Brown received a BA from the St. Joseph’s Seminary in Menlo Park, CA, and a BS and ME from the Univers...

In Memoriam: Raymond N. Smartt, 1930-2010Raymond N. (Ray) Smartt, an OSA Fellow and former scientist at the U.S. National Solar Observatory (NSO) in Sacramento Peak, New Mexico, passed away on 7 August 2010, in Newcastle, Australia, a few days after his 80th birthday. Smartt was an optical physicist who made important contributions to coronal physics.
Smartt began his pr...

In Memoriam: Franco Cerrina, 1948-2010
Franco Cerrina, an OSA Fellow who was chair of the Boston University (BU) College of Engineering's electrical and computer engineering department, was found dead in his laboratory on July 12, 2010. The death was ruled "noncriminal" by the Boston Police department. Cerrina was 62.
Cerrina earned his PhD in solid-state physics in 1974 fr...

In Memoriam: John B. Abbiss, 1931-2010
Dr. John B. Abbiss, aged 78, died suddenly from heart failure on Wednesday 23rd of June 2010 at his home in Irvine, California.
After receiving Bachelor degrees in Physics and Mathematics in 1952 and 1953, respectively, from the University of Wales at Cardiff, Dr. Abbiss joined the Guided Weapons Division of the former Bristol Aircraft Company (now ...

In Memoriam: Gerald Meltz, 1934-2010Gerald (Gerry) Meltz, internationally known for his contributions to the field of fiber optic sensing and for his discovery and development of UV written fiber Bragg gratings, passed away June 9, 2010 after a long battle with cancer. He was 75.
In recognition of his contributions, Meltz received the prestigious Optoelectronics Rank Prize in 2002 fo...

OSA Mourns the Loss of Sang Soo Lee, 1925-2010 Sang Soo Lee, an OSA Fellow and a Professor Emeritus at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), passed away on May 7, 2010, in Korea. He was 84.
Known as the "Father of Optics" in Korea, Dr. Lee was the first scientist with a Ph.D. degree in optics in his country, and he nearly single-handedly laid the foundat...

In Memoriam: Alfred Josef Thelen, 1929-2010Alfred Josef Thelen, an OSA Fellow Emeritus known for his contributions to the field of optical thin films, died on April 19, 2010, in Frankfurt, Germany. He was 81.
Thelen’s accomplishments included work in such areas as antireflection coatings, reflection and minus filters, edge filters, beam splitters, broad- and narrow-bandpass ...

OSA Mourns the Loss of Boris P. Stoicheff,
OSA Past PresidentBoris P. Stoicheff, an OSA Past President and Fellow Emeritus and an emeritus university professor of physics at the University of Toronto, Canada, died on April 15, 2010 in Toronto after a battle with multiple myeloma. He was 85.
Stoicheff, who built the first ruby laser in Canada, was renowned for his pioneering contrib...

In Memoriam: Michael S. Feld, 1940–2010Michael S. Feld, an OSA Fellow and Professor of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, died on April 10, 2010, in Jamaica Plain, MA, after an eight-year struggle with multiple myeloma. He was 69.
Feld, who directed the MIT George R. Harrison Spectroscopy Laboratory since 1976, made fundamental contributions in the field of laser s...

In Memoriam: Lucien Morton Biberman, 1919–2010
Lucien M. Biberman, an OSA Fellow internationally known for his contributions to electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) technology and phenomenology, died on March 28, 2010 in Silver Spring, MD. He was 90.
In a career spanning more than four decades, Mr. Biberman conducted pioneering research in infrared detectors, sensors, missile seekers a...

OSA supports the next generation of researchers and engineers. Students pay just $20 USD for 1-year membership; $10 USD for students residing in an economically developing nation. Save even more with a 3-year term.

The Optical Society's (OSA) mission is to promote the generation, application and archiving of knowledge in optics and photonics and to disseminate this knowledge worldwide. The purposes of the Society are scientific, technical and educational. OSA’s commitment to excellence and long-term learning is the driving force behind all its initiatives.